
From Chalice Press: Why We’re Publishing “Blessed Youth” and “Blessed Youth Survival Guide”
This was originally posted on Chalice Press, here. Nearly 20 percent of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide last year. Almost 10 percent acted on those thoughts and attempted suicide. These statistics, reported in April by the Center for Disease Control, became part of the life experience of Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund when her 16-year-old nieceContinue reading “From Chalice Press: Why We’re Publishing “Blessed Youth” and “Blessed Youth Survival Guide””

The Stigma of Suicide
Stigma silences. Stigma shames. Stigma controls. Stigma creates barriers. Stigma isolates. Stigma alienates. Stigma spreads fear. Perhaps nothing in the field of mental health is more stigmatized and misunderstood than suicide. Part of the problem is the stigma itself. Why is it so hard to talk about suicide? As a suicide loss survivor and asContinue reading “The Stigma of Suicide”

Blessed Youth
“Sometimes I cry when I am laughing so hard and my sides hurt,” I smile as I talk to my six year old niece. “Yes, tears just start falling out of my eyes!” “It’s the same water that’s in your nose,” she says matter-of-factly. “And sometimes I cry when I am feeling sad or lonely.Continue reading “Blessed Youth”

The Beatitudes of the Pastor
1. Blessed is the pastor who embraces simplicity and sharing her lifestyle because her witness gives birth to the realm of heaven. 2. Blessed is the pastor who does not fear to water her face with tears, so that in them can be mirrored the sorrows of the people, the fatigue of the ministries, andContinue reading “The Beatitudes of the Pastor”

Mental Health and Spirituality
Mental health encompasses all of who we are in mind, body, and spirit. Yet, too often we talk about mental health as if our brains are detached from our bodies and our souls. This limited understanding led me to wonder what a mental health informed spirituality would look like. Put another way, what can mentalContinue reading “Mental Health and Spirituality”

Mental Health Blessings
Every day this month, in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, I’ve posted a simple string of words onto my Facebook page with the hashtag Mental Health, “People with ____ are loved by God #MentalHealth.” The response has been overwhelming, with people loving, liking, caring, and sharing with friends. It turns out that many ofContinue reading “Mental Health Blessings”

No Words
Sometimes there are no words to describe when the pit of your stomach falls out and your breath catches in your throat. There are no words to describe when you mask all the time except that one time when you couldn’t breathe. The time when in the doctor’s office the mask had to come offContinue reading “No Words”

Tender and Taboo
Talking on the phone with a friend, I closed my eyes to listen. In their story about love, grief, mental illness, and marriage, I heard the sound of hope walking away, like barefoot footsteps waking down the hallway to the bedroom. The problem is that echoes of hope are not enough. The problem is thatContinue reading “Tender and Taboo”

Valentine’s Day Challenges
Here’s our love story: We met online initially, then after a few weeks of online communication, we decided to meet up in person at a yoga studio. Following a Friday night candlelight flow session, he invited me out for some sushi. That’s how I first met and started dating my husband. This narrative is anContinue reading “Valentine’s Day Challenges”

If I Should Die Before I Wake
I surprised myself and my publisher yesterday by replying to their email saying the book Blessed Union: Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness and Marriage saved my life. For one, over the course of the years researching and writing the book, my marriage was saved by a combination of anti-depressant medications, anti-anxiety medications, CBD oil,Continue reading “If I Should Die Before I Wake”

Real Talk About Real Marriage
Why does depression suck the life out of the bedroom? Why does PTSD make it hard to be vulnerable with my partner? Why do I disappear into a screen rather than gaze into my lover’s eyes? Why was it so much easier when we were drinking? Why do I feel disconnected from my own bodyContinue reading “Real Talk About Real Marriage”

God of the Depressed
On Tuesday, January 19, I offered a prayer on the steps of the Indiana State House as part of a community interfaith prayer service. The invitation said they needed a woman faith leader who could pray as all the dozen or so faith leaders speaking so far were men. I offered this prayer as aContinue reading “God of the Depressed”
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